407: Coronation
by me11
Summary: ...Back to school...a new student...a big charity dinner...and Lionel...
1. Teaser

**Smallville 4.07 – Coronation**

**Teaser**

_It was another beautiful September day in Smallville, Kansas. Clark Kent hummed to himself while he worked. He was up at the crack of dawn, because like his father always said, the cows wouldn't feed themselves. Those same cows were already fed, milked, grazing and happy for the time being. While Jonathan was off fiddling with yet another broken part on the old tractor, Clark was busy mucking out the barn stalls._

_He leaned against the pitchfork for a moment, taking a break to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Not that he was worn out, of course not, but the bright sun shining through the open barn door was heating his skin, toasting it to a nice golden color. He didn't really mind doing chores, though he pretended that he did, but still, when a car pulled up into the yard, he was glad for the interruption._

_Clark used his x-ray vision to look through the barn wall to see who had arrived. It was Chloe, sliding easily out of the driver's seat of Lex's favorite silver Porsche. He grinned when he saw her shut the door and head directly to the barn. She knew him too well._

_A few seconds later, Chloe was striding confidently into the barn, her heels clicking deftly on the old wooden floor. "Hi Chloe," Clark greeted her with one of his biggest smiles, the special ones that he reserved for just her._

_Chloe didn't return the smile. Instead she strode right towards him, never breaking her stride. "I know your secret Clark," she told him confidently._

_Clark paled and felt himself begin to panic. "What do mean?" he asked shakily, forcing another grin to his face. She smirked back in reply and now stopped in front of him._

_"I know your secret Clark," she said again, this time reaching her hand behind her slowly._

_"Chloe I don't know what—"before he could finish Chloe pulled a sliver hand gun out of the waistband of her dress pants and pointed it at him. She aimed straight at his heart and squeezed the trigger, firing at least five bullets before he even got over the shock._

_When the smoke cleared, Chloe lowered the gun and stared back at him impassively. Clark stared back in shock, five perfect holes through the shirt he was wearing, and five mangled bullets lying on the ground in front of his feet. She smirked again...._

"CLARK!" his eyes flew open suddenly at the scream. Clark blinked a couple of times, discovering that he was no longer in the barn, but now lying in his disheveled bed. He allowed himself to take a few deep breaths. "Clark Kent you'd better be getting ready!" his mother called again.

"I'm up!" Clark called back down to her shakily.

"You're going to be late for your first day of school!" she called up in warning. Clark nodded to himself and took another deep breath.

"Right."

_TBC..._


	2. One

**Chapter One**

_A/N: Sorry for the slow updates lately. School's started and I can't bring my computer to my new place until next weekend, so I have to wait until I go home to my parents house to update. So don't expect a new chapter until at next weekend at the earliest. Sorry :0(_

_Just a couple of things to cover my own ass; I'm not a lawyer, so some of the legal stuff mentioned in this chapter may not be phrased correctly...whatever. Pretend that it's right, because I'm not going to contact a lawyer to get proper phrasing for my fanfics. That's reasonable isn't it? Also, there's a comment about a medication thing in Florida, and about some business stuff: I'm not a business person, nor am I really current on the medication issue down there (I don't live in Florida). It's just some info that I know was an issue at one point, not sure if it still is, that I put in for an explanatory plot device...most of you probably won't even notice it. But for those of you who do, just be aware that I do in fact know that it's not terribly accurate. :0)_

_Again, thanks to all who reviewed. You guys rock. For the record, I would be harassing me too to get my updates up sooner...I'm ridiculously slow at it. Sorry again! I won't be reposting my fics at , because I had such a ridiculous time doing it the first time, and the stupid flood control annoys me (I just cut and paste). I am thinking about making a page to host my fics though, because this site does have some downfalls...._

_Happy September everyone, and I hope to post again next weekend!_

_:0)_

* * *

Students once again swarmed the halls of Smallville High School. Jocks and cheerleaders, normal kids, geeks, and even the meteor rock freaks. Chloe and Clark stood out blatantly though, because everywhere they went, a large, terrifying security guard accompanied them. The other students gave them wide berth when they walked, too afraid of the guards to get within three feet of their charges. They seemed to unanimously decide that if Lex Luthor wanted his highly paid security team around them constantly, it was unsafe to even go near them. 

"This is ridiculous," Chloe muttered in exasperation. Her and Clark were walking down the stairs, towards the cafeteria. "Look!" A pair of freshmen came around the corner, looked up at the massive guards, and took off running in the other direction. "Oh come on!" she yelled after them. "They aren't going to shoot you!"

"I think you're wasting your breath Chloe," Clark grinned at her. A group of five football players threw themselves against the wall to let them pass. Clark started to chuckle.

"Laugh it up Kent," she grumbled and shot a glare at a trip of cowering junior girls. "But Lex has a guy on you too now; no one's going to talk to you either."

"I think you're overreacting," he tried to reason with her. "It's just the first week of school. I'm sure that in a few days no one will even notice them anymore."

"Maybe," Chloe nodded hopefully. They passed the Torch office and both automatically slowed down. Clark frowned now while he read over the sign taped to the door.

"I can't believe you really did it," he shook his head sadly.

Chloe snorted bitterly. "You can't? I should have done this a long time ago Clark," she too read the sign. Editor Wanted.

"But Chloe, the Torch was your life," he insisted. "You're the best reporter that I've ever seen. I can't believe that you're quitting."

"The search for the truth just doesn't hold the same appeal that it once did," she said quietly, willing the lump in her throat to go away.

"Chloe"

"No Clark," she shook her head adamantly and he snapped his mouth shut. "The Torch was all that I cared about for too long. I'm not going to loose what little I have left because of my desire of one more good story."

"It's not like you to quit something that you love," he insisted again. "Your dad wouldn't want—"

"My dad is dead Clark!" she told shortly, drawing stares from some of the other students.

"Chloe—"

"No Clark! I'm done talking about this," she now noticed their audience and lowered her voice. "I couldn't learn to mind my own business before, and look at where it got me! I'm not going to let anyone else that I care about get hurt because of me. Not anymore."

He opened his mouth a couple of times, probably for a rebuttal, but didn't say anything. He seemed to realize that it was pointless arguing; she always won anyways. "Okay," he put his hands up in defeat. "I'll let it go for now. But Chloe you know that what happened to your dad wasn't your fault. Don't you?" She didn't answer. "Chloe? Tell me that you know that."

"I know that," she echoed. Clark didn't believe her.

* * *

Lex wasn't a fan of the telephone; he saw it as an occasionally useful device to overcome the dilemma of distance, but mostly considered it a safety net for people who wished to avoid face-to-face confrontations. So when Lex Luthor took over rival companies, he liked to do it face-to-face. No telephones. 

Which was why he was now sitting in the boardroom at Luther Corp Plaza, staring as imposingly as he could down the table at his latest business conquest, and trying desperately not to look too excited. Alden Fryor Junior was the President and CEO of Fryor Pharmaceuticals. And Lex was in the middle of taking control of his company.

Fryor was a thin, ageing man, ready to retire from the business world. Currently, the older man was reading intently through the contract in front of him. "So do we have a deal Mr. Fryor?" Lex asked him, aiming for nonchalant. Fryor jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, tearing his eyes away from the contract that he was mulling over.

"The financial terms are fine," Fryor said rather reservedly. "But I'm a little unclear about your plans for my existing employees."

"What exactly are you unclear about?" Lex asked him, a strange feeling of dread filling him.

"Once you have control of my company are you going to lay off all of my employees?" Fryor asked bluntly, with much greater confidence than Lex had expected from the kindly looking old man. "Fryor Pharmaceuticals employs over 5000 people. I will let myself go bankrupt before I give Luthor Corp the ability to turn that many of my people to the streets."

Lex blinked at him briefly, the feeling of dread vanishing now. He reached for the intercom button. "Miss King? Send Jensen in please."

"Yes Mr. Luthor," she answered through the speaker. A minute later they were joined by a third man, this one a middle aged lawyer in a navy suit.

"This is Warren Jensen," Lex told Fryor. "He is Luthor Corp's primary acquisition attorney. Mr. Jensen, I would like you to please write a notwithstanding clause into the Fryor Pharmaceuticals acquisition contract. All employees of the previous Fryor Pharmaceuticals may not be dismissed without just cause, in accordance with previous Fryor Pharmaceuticals and current Luthor Corp employment policies."

"Yes sir," Jensen nodded, just as eager as Lex was, but not nearly as good at hiding it, and slipped back out of the boardroom. Lex turned his attention back to Fryor, looking at him expectantly.

"Okay," Fryor nodded, his once relaxed demeanor returning. "That sounds good. Thank-you."

"Mr. Fryor," Lex began seriously and leaned forward onto his elbows, staring across the table at the older man. "Despite the dysfunctional nature of my own family, Luthor Corp is a family friendly corporation. My father may have been willing to sacrifice the livelihood of his employees for profit, but I am not."

Fryor nodded again.

"I'm afraid that I have a two o'clock appointment Mr. Fryor," Lex gathered up his copies of the contract and put them into his brief case. "I'll have the contracts delivered to your offices before the end of the day."

"Very well," Fryor's pleasant old face contorted slightly when he stood, his knees shaking slightly.

"Provided the terms are still satisfactory to you," he walked over to stand beside Fryor. "I was hoping to make an official confirmation at tomorrow's Metropolis Philanthropist Charity Dinner."

"I'll be there," Fryor nodded.

"Excellent," Lex smiled professionally and shook is hand. "Tomorrow then." He nodded at Fryor once more and then left the boardroom for his office, a proud smirk on his face. It was a good day.

* * *

Chloe was bored. After school she'd gone straight home to the mansion, since she didn't have to go to the Torch office, and set to work immediately on her homework. It took her all of twenty minutes. "Damn public school," she'd muttered, throwing her pen down on her completed work and checking her watch with a sigh. 

Now she was pacing aimlessly through the hallways, trying to find something to do. "Maybe I should go for a swim," she mused quietly. "Or I could play pool...where am I?" She looked around the unfamiliar hallway skeptically. She'd been wandering without really paying attention. 'How have I never seen this before?' she wondered.

A door at the end of the hall caught her eye. It was average looking, as far as doors go, but her reporter instinct made her look twice. She walked over and tentatively twisted the doorknob. Locked.

She frowned and tried again, jiggling it a little for good measure. "What the" Lex didn't keep anything locked, except for his cars, his safes, and more recently, his liquor cabinets. So why _this_ door? "What's back there?" she muttered.

Out of habit, she crouched down and examined the keyhole, wondering if she could pick the lock. She probably could, she'd opened locks like that one before

"What am I doing?" she muttered to herself, appalled at the very thought. In the past she would have been determined to find her way into that room. But now, she was trying to make a few changes. "Mind your own business," she reminded herself, her new mantra. "If Lex wants it locked then there must be a good reason." The statement was enough to force her away from the door, but not quite enough to quell the curiosity.

By the time she found her way to the game room she'd already vowed to stay away from the locked door. It was a strange move for her, and very unsatisfying.

She racked up the balls on the pool table and began to organize them by alternate patterns. After sinking every single ball three times she was once again bored. Just as she was seriously beginning to contemplate finding Lex's Warrior Angel room, the phone rang.

Usually Walden would answer the phone, but she lunged for it quickly. "I've got it!" she hollered into the hallway and then clicked the talk button. "Hello?"

"Chloe?" Lex asked over the line.

"Yeah, hi," she sighed in relief at having someone to talk to.

"Hello," he drawled in return.

"What's up?" she asked eagerly, almost hoping that he'd ask her to vacuum or wash his cars, or something.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "You sound a little...jumpy."

"Just bored," she admitted. "Clark's at home herding cows, or whatever it is farmers do, and I just realized that he's really the only person that I hang out with."

"If Clark Kent is your only source of entertainment then I think maybe you need a hobby," he laughed. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I could start a comic book collection," she jibed.

"You're hilarious," he deadpanned, causing a grin to spread its way over her features.

"Or a stand up routine?" she suggested.

"I'm sure you'd be great at that," he snarked.

"Yeah...so, what's up Lex?" she repeated. "You didn't just call to chat did you? Because I never took you for much of a phone person."

"Actually I was wondering if you wanted to meet me for dinner?" he asked her. She perked up.

"Okay, I'd kill to get out of here for a while," she tossed a glance towards the doorway where two security guards lingered, keeping keen eagle eyes on her. She made a mental note to talk about that to him later. "Where should I meet you?"

"I'll send the helicopter for you," he informed her. "It'll pick you up at six."

"Okay," she agreed. "See you later."

"I'll see you later," he repeated, a little more grammatically correct. She hung up the phone with a grin and put away her pool cue. When she left the game room the two guards fell into step behind her. She led them down towards the kitchens, where she informed Michel that her and Lex would be out for the rest of the evening.

"Take the night off," she told him with a beaming smile, excited to be getting out of Smallville for the evening. Michel nodded and returned the smile, though a little less exuberantly.

"Yes Miss," he winked at her quickly and she gave him a little wave before heading off to her room.

* * *

Lex waited on the roof while the helicopter landed. There was no wind that day, but the twirling blades caused his jacked to flap out behind him. This was one of those times when he was glad that he had no hair. 

The propellers came to a halt and Chloe climbed out, her two bodyguards hot on her heels. She smiled when she spotted him and walked over to meet her. "You look nice," he greeted and led her to the elevators. She did look nice actually, in a black skirt and an off white sweater. The skirt was knee length, still classy, and the sweater had a wide cut neckline that showed off her collarbones, still sexy.

"Thanks," she looked up at him appraisingly. "You look...happy—"she stopped walking abruptly and he looked back at her in confusion. "You didn't get married again did you?"

Lex smirked. "No, not today," he assured her.

"Oh good," she sighed dramatically and then returned his smirk with a mega-watt grin. He pressed the button to summon the elevator. "So then what's going on?"

"Does something have to be going on?" he asked her smoothly. "Isn't it possible that I just wanted to have a nice dinner with you?" She shot him an "oh come on" look and he found himself rolling his eyes. They climbed onto the elevator and he hit the button for the lobby. "Luthor Corp acquired a rival company today," he told her.

"Oh, so we're celebrating?" she asked him.

"We're celebrating," he confirmed.

"Nice."

* * *

They went to a restaurant on the Corporate Strip, which was the main street through the business district, called Alesco. When they arrived Chloe had been surprised to find that the majority of Luthor Corp's executives and major shareholders were there. And many of them had brought _guests_. 

Chloe sat beside Lex and spent most of the dinner listening to Kandee Coolridge talk about various hair care products. Kandee was the girlfriend to Luthor Corp's Chief Acquisition Attorney, Warren Jensen. Jensen's wife was currently missing the festivities. The girl was so annoying that Chloe kept fighting a constant inward battle, deciding who she'd rather stab with her salad fork; Kandee for talking so damn much, or Lex for bringing her there in the first place.

The Luthor Corp table was definitely the loudest in the restaurant, and Chloe had to wonder why a bunch of stuffy suits were acting like frat boys on free-keg-night. As usual, Lex was the only one at the table who had, so far, managed to keep himself in line, even after the countless drinks that he'd consumed. She was honestly wondering why he'd invited her to join them; she had no connection to the company, and she wasn't his girlfriend. And why were they so...

Chloe decided that she had to know. She leaned towards him slightly and nudged his knee with her own. "Why are they so excited?" she asked once he'd turned her way.

"I told you, we acquired a rival company today," he reminded her, shooting her an uncharacteristic grin over the rim of his glass, just before he took a large swig of the wine inside it.

"What company was it?" she wondered.

"Fryor Pharmaceuticals," he informed her, his voice dripping with a thick, husky quality that she associated with too much alcohol. She frowned.

"What? But that's only a midsize company. It's not even the largest pharmaceutical company in Metropolis," she sipped her wine, pointedly showing him that he shouldn't gulp his back like that.

"You're right," he nodded and grabbed a nearby wine bottle, topping off his glass. "But Fryor Pharmaceuticals specializes in cardiac and blood pressure medications."

"So?" she laughed. "Is there a sudden rush of heart attack patients lately?"

"No," he almost giggled in return. Maybe he had had a few too many drinks. "But the company is up for a major contract with drug distributors in Florida, now that the government is restricting the import of drugs from Canada."

"So the company is poised to make a big deal in the next couple of months," she finished. He nodded. "But it's an election year, what if the government officials change?"

"We'll still get the contract," he actually did let out a gigglish sort of laugh now. "Because we're going to reduce the wholesale cost of the drugs by a third."

"Won't you loose money?" she raised her eyebrows now. He shook his head and polished off his latest glass of wine.

"Nope," he poured another and this time she took the bottle away once he was done. "We cut the production costs in half by using Cadmus Labs instead of outside sources to produce the drugs. It's really all very complicated...but in the end we come out on top."

"Okay" she wasn't terribly convinced.

"_That's_ why they're excited Chloe," he grinned hugely. "We made a lot of money today."

"Oh," she nodded in amusement...and then frowned. "But why are _you_ so happy?"

"I just told you, we made a lot of money today," he repeated, sounding a little annoyed.

"Well yeah, but _they_ could probably use the extra money," she shook her head. "But you"

"A little, well actually a lot, of extra money never hurt anyone Chloe," he told her shortly.

"It's not like you to get so excited over money Lex," she insisted. "It's not like you don't have a ton of it already."

"Chloe just drop it," he practically growled. It just spurred her on, knowing that he was hiding something.

"But I _know_ that there's something else—"

"**Chloe**!" he snapped loudly, shocking her. She noticed the awkward stares and averted eyes from the people sitting nearest to them. He noticed too and his face softened immediately. "Chloe I—"

She dropped her napkin onto the table and pushed her chair backwards. "Would you please excuse me," she told the others politely, ignoring Lex completely and cutting off whatever half-assed explanation he was probably in the process of thinking of. A couple of the men tried drunkenly to stand but she shook her head. "No, please don't get up."

She walked quickly away from the table and headed towards the restrooms. The women's room was lavishly decorated and had a wide selection of scented soaps, but Chloe was too busy fuming at Lex to really notice. She paced back and forth a few time and took several deep breaths to calm herself. She'd tell him off when they got home, but she wasn't about to go out there and make a scene in front of Luthor Corp's top men and women. She had far too much pride for that.

Taking one last deep lungful of air, she pushed the door open again and walked back out into the hallway. Lex was leaning against the wall waiting. "Chloe," he said immediately, before she could speak first. "I'm sorry I yelled at you like that."

"Good," she scowled childishly. "Luckily it wasn't _at all_ embarrassing being yelled at in a room full of people!"

"It was wrong of me," he repeated evenly, looking very sincere. "I'm sorry." She sighed, knowing that she should just take the high road and let it go. He _wa_s drunk after all.

"Well...I probably shouldn't have kept questioning you," she returned, feeling like a petulant child now. "So I'm sorry too. I swear I'm tying to work on my nosiness."

He grinned. "That wasn't nosiness, it was concern," he assured her. "It was _needless_ concern, but it _was_ concern."

She still didn't believe him, but she was a smart girl and knew that she should just let it go for the night. Arguing with someone who'd had that much to drink was just pointless. "So, didn't we come here to celebrate your big corporate success today?" she forced a smile, finding that it was getting easier every day to plaster on those phony grins.

"Yes we did," he offered his arm and they rejoined the table. Chloe let him keep drinking, because something about Fryor Pharmaceuticals had made him that happy, and she wanted him to enjoy it. She knew that there was more to the situation though, something that he wasn't telling her.

TBC


	3. Two

**Chapter 2**

_A/N:Here's the next chapter, a little later than I would have liked, but I wanted to make sure it was up in time for the premiere tonight...not sure why. Anyway, Part 3's almost done getting typed and I'll have it up by the end of the week (that's Friday not Sunday), most likely tomorrow. Thanks for all of the reviews, I love to get them. And just in case it was unclear to some of you, since I didn't actually mention it before, to the best of my knowledge, Fryor Pharmaceuticals isn't a real company, it's just a name I made up. If there is a company by the same name it's only coincidence and is not connected to my story in anyway. Also there's another new character in this chapter...gasp! I know I know, I just keep bringing them. He's not like Amy or Bruce Wayne though, he'll be around for a bit: honestly I'm trying to decide between two plot lines for him at this point. Since I'm keeping Lana in Paris the teen group is pretty small, just Chloe and Clark, so I felt the need to add someone else in. The new guy will have an important role, eventually, but he won't be around until the end of the "season" so no worries, he's not going to end up with our girl...or worse, one of our boys. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :0) Any ideas you have about the new guy (after you've read the chapter) I'd love to hear, as well as any suggestions for future storyline for him. Read on and happy Smallville tonight!_

**

* * *

**

Chloe swayed slightly under the weight of the arm around her shoulders. "Okay step up!" she yelled out, the sound of whirring propellers drowning out much of the sound of her voice. "Lex!"

"Hmm?" Lex laughed and leaned against her heavily. She forced herself not to curse at him. His head rolled clumsily to the side and she saw his eyes blink a couple of times, trying to focus.

"Step up Lex!" she yelled again. When he blinked, this time in confusion, she groaned. "Fine then," she muttered and reached down, grabbing his pants and the knee and forcing him to bend his leg, lifting his foot onto the step. He seemed to realize what she was asking now, because he climbed into the chopper as quickly as his affected motor functions would allow and settled clumsily into one of the seats. "Jeez," she muttered in annoyance, wiping some sweat off of her forehead.

Chloe climbed in after him and took the briefcase that one of her guards, Jameson, was holding out for her. "Thanks!" she called to him. He nodded and shut the door behind her. Chloe set the case down on the floor and turned to where Lex was sitting, struggling hopelessly with his still-unbuckled seat belt. "Okay Lex," she reached over and helped him buckle the straps, then handed him a head set. He slid it on and gave her a goofy grin. Chloe rolled her eyes and buckled herself in, slipping on her own headset.

Lex lifted his left hand and made a peace sign at her. "Can you hear me now?" he asked, almost bursting into hysterics. Chloe nodded and returned his laugh with a grin of her own.

The ride back to Smallville was, luckily, not too long. The pilot set the helicopter down on the usual spot in the yard, but this time Chloe thought that it looked a lot farther away from the house than usual. Or maybe that was just because Lex was leaning half of his weight on her.

Her guards followed behind them, climbing out of the chopper after her. She let Jameson take the briefcase again and began to help Lex walk inside. It _had_ actually occurred to her to let the guards assist Lex into the house, but she'd decided that he probably wouldn't want that. As it was he would already be embarrassed enough that they had seen him this inebriated.

Lex had taken care of her when she'd gotten drunk in London, but until now she hadn't really thought too much of it. Her new rule of life was "never get so drunk that your friends have to carry you home"...not without a good reason anyway. Frankly she was surprised that Lex considered acquiring a mid-sized pharmaceutical company a good enough reason for his employees to see him loose control like that. But hey, who was she to judge him.

They finally made it to the front door, and Chloe was glad when Walden greeted them. "Miss Chloe," he stared at Lex in shock. "Do you need any assistance?"

She considered it...seriously. "No that's okay," she shook her head. "I'll just bring him to his room. Could you maybe get his briefcase from Jameson?"

"Of course," he nodded quickly. "I'll leave it in his study."

"Thanks Walden," she smiled at him gratefully. Lex's head shot up quickly.

"Hey!" he cried. "It's Walden."

"Yeah...it's Walden," she groaned uncomfortably and hoisted his arm higher up her shoulders, trying to get a more secure hold on him. "Say goodnight."

"Goodnight Walden," he grinned at the butler drunkenly, reaching sloppily to shake his hand.

"Goodnight Mr. Luthor," Walden returned the handshake with a small, amused smile. Chloe grinned too and then led Lex down the hallway as best she could.

"Lex Luthor if you don't start helping me I'll just leave you out here for the night," she warned him when he began to let his feet drag. He didn't answer her, he just let his head loll over to rest on her shoulder. She groaned. They'd reached the stairs and she didn't like the idea of making him go up them, not in that condition. She decided that walking the extra twenty feet to the elevator would be more than worth it. "Please Lex? Just a little farther."

She felt his head snap back up, it shook her shoulder, and he seemed to hear her this time. They began to move again, reaching the elevator quicker than she'd hoped. "How come _you_ don't call me Mr. Luthor?" he asked her while they rode up to the fourth floor. Chloe took the opportunity to lean him against the wall and catch her breath.

"Because you don't pay me to," she snarked as best as she could through her exhaustion. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She helped him climb out and secured his arm around her shoulders again.

"You used to," he remembered. They moved down the hallway towards his bedroom. She almost cried in relief when she saw his door.

"Yeah, well...we weren't friends then."

"But we're friends now?"

"Yes," they reached the door and she pushed it open gratefully.

"That's strange," he muttered. His bedroom had a large set of regal looking double doors, which were luckily wide enough that they didn't have to walk in sideways.

"Why?" she muttered back, trying not to concentrate on the pain in her neck.

"Because I'm not friends with any other girls," he told her matter-of-factly. She led him over to his bed and sat him down on it.

"Why not?" she sat beside him for a moment, catching her breath.

He frowned for a second. "Oh! Because I just want to sleep with them," he slurred almost triumphantly, just remembering why. He let himself fall backwards onto the bed. Chloe grabbed his arm and pulled him back into a sitting position.

"Gee that's swell," she rolled her eyes and stood up again, helping him shrug his jacket off. "Keep that up and you're going to give me a complex."

Lex frowned. "What? Why?"

She shrugged and struggled with the knot in his tie. "Take that off, I don't want you to strangle yourself," she told him. He began to tug at his tie and she kneeled on the ground to pull his shoes off.

"I didn't mean it like that Chloe," he told her, finally managing to pull the tie off. She took the garment from him and he unbuttoned the top two buttons on his dress shirt.

"It's okay Lex," she shook her head in amusement.

"But I didn't," he mumbled dejectedly. She turned down the covers and knocked a couple of the decorative pillows onto the floor.

"Okay, climb in," she told him. "It's bed time."

"Why?" he stood up, wobbled, and grabbed her arm to steady himself.

"Because it's late and I have to go to school in the morning," she told him. He nodded and climbed clumsily into the bed.

"I have to go to work in the morning," he muttered. Chloe shook her head.

"I think maybe you can call in sick for one day," she assured him. He shook his head back at her, miserably.

"No I have to go," he told her seriously. "Or they'll all think that I got drunk."

"Lex, you _are_ drunk," she chuckled and pulled the covers up over him.

"Oh," he sighed. Chloe took sympathy on him.

"But you earned it didn't you?" she reminded him. "You made Luthor Corp a lot of money today, remember?"

"I don't care about the money," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "I'm just glad that I beat him."

Chloe frowned. "What?" she asked. "Beat who?" He didn't answer this time; from the rhythmic breathing she figured that he was asleep. She sighed again. "Goodnight Lex."

* * *

There was a marching band going through his bedroom. No wait, that was just the thumping in his head. Lex opened his eyes wearily, only to have them snap shut again as soon as the blinding sunlight hit them.

He groaned and this time opened his eyes more slowly, letting them get gradually used to the light. 'What happened?' he wondered. The events of the night before came flooding back: Fryor, the executives at Alesco, Chloe helping him into bed...

"Shit," he muttered, rolling over, away from the sunlight. Someone had put a bottle of water and a bottle of Asprin on his nightstand. He reached out and unfolded the note that was resting against them.

_I figured you would want to sleep in today so I called your secretary before school. If anyone asks, you had a meeting at the Smallville plant this morning. And your date for tonight's charity thing called. She's got mono. What can you expect though from a Miss Metropolis?_

_Chloe_

Lex groaned again. Now he would have to find another date for the charity dinner. He popped back a couple of the pills and washed them down with a generous swig of the water. It did nothing to get the cottony taste out of his mouth.

Somehow he made it into his bathroom. He ran the shower as hot as her could stand it and waited for the pills to kick in. "I'm never drinking again," he told himself forcefully, tipping his face under the stream of the water.

* * *

"So Lex got drunk?" Clark asked her in disbelief. Chloe nodded. "That's...isn't that weird?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I've never seen him drunk before that, but he did do the whole club scene when he lived in Metropolis," she told him. "It's not like it's the first time."

"But it's still not like him to do that now," Clark fretted.

"Believe it or not Clark there are worse things in this would than drinking," she laughed.

"It's just not like Lex to get drunk to avoid his problems," Clark insisted.

"He was celebrating," Chloe said defensively, though she actually did agree with Clark's point.

"When has Lex ever really celebrated making money?" Clark asked her. She nodded reluctantly.

"Actually I asked him that last night," she admitted. "He got really uptight about it too...so don't you dare go over there and harass him about this!" Clark looked guilty and she figured that he had planned on doing just that. "I mean it Clark, don't even bring it up. In fact, I shouldn't have even told you; pretend that I didn't."

"You're awfully defensive about this Chloe," he remarked in amusement.

"I'm not defensive," she told him...defensively. "It's just not that big of a deal, but I know that you would turn it into one."

They stopped at his locker and he opened it quickly, exchanging his books. "You're kind of making it sound like a big deal," he pointed out. She was about to protest but he continued quickly. "It's okay to be worried about him Chloe."

"I'm not worried," she insisted. "I was just pointing out that it was strange to see Lex like that. If it were anyone else it wouldn't even be worth mentioning. He's just usually so..."

"In control?" Clark supplied. She nodded.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I know that he doesn't like to loose control, so why would he let himself get to that point? Especially in front of all of those people. It's probably killing him today."

"Maybe one of us should ask him," Clark suggested, closing his locker. They moved on to hers now.

"Uh, no," she laughed at the idea. "I tried that already...got into a fight over it."

"Maybe you just asked him in the wrong way," Clark shrugged.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Clark grinned. "I thought you were supposed to be intuitive," he teased her.

"I'm out of practice," she admitted. A lone freshman came around the corner then, looked at them, and then turned back the way he came. "Remind me to talk to Lex about those guards."

* * *

Chloe listened to the steady rhythm of two sets of shoes following her down the hallway, her guards. After the numerous attempts on her life she was actually finding their presence rather comforting. But she was glad when they agreed to wait outside of the girl's bathroom.

She was debating heading to the library, since it was her free period and she didn't have to go to the Torch office. Making her mind up, she'd get her homework done now so that she didn't have to do it over the weekend (not that it ever took her long), she took a left when the hallway forked. She passed the principal's office and stopped to read the notices on the bulletin board. Car for sale...free kittens to good home...math tutor wanted...and even a notice about a student council special election the next week. Lana had stayed in Paris for another semester; apparently there were some special classes there that she could take so she would still be able to graduate with her class. But now the student council needed a new spirit chair.

After reading a couple more notices she continued on her way. She rounded another corner and then paused. There was a redheaded guy trying to open the door to the Torch office. The _Editor Wanted_ sign was now gone. He must have felt her eyes on him, because he paused in his efforts and looked up at her.

"Hey," he greeted warily, nervous from both her staring and the guards behind her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I'm baking a cake," he told her flippantly. When she raised her eyebrows he grinned. "What do you think? I'm trying to get into my office. I think maybe the key is bent though."

"You're the new editor," she realized. He nodded and held his hand out, shooting a cautious glance at the guards.

"I'm Cooper Harris," he grinned again; she liked his dimples. Chloe shook his hand.

"Chloe Sullivan," she smiled tentatively. His eyebrows raised now.

"So you're Chloe," he looked her up and down quickly. "I thought you'd be...taller."

"Excuse me?" she laughed.

"Taller," he repeated. "You left some pretty big shoes to fill Chloe...metaphorically I mean. I guess I thought that you'd be scary or something, but you're pretty normal looking to me."

"I'm sorry," she teased.

"No, I like normal," he grinned again. Chloe rolled her eyes playfully.

"It's not bent," she told him matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"The _key_," she clarified, taking it from him. "The handle just sticks when it's locked. You have to sort of lift..." she showed him what she meant and then pushed the office door open.

"Oh," he nodded gratefully. "Thanks. I was trying to open it for almost five minutes." She laughed and peered tentatively into the office. It looked strange now that the Wall of Weird was taken down. "Do you want to come in? I had a couple of questions about some of the files."

She hesitated. "Yeah sure," Chloe nodded finally. He smiled gratefully again and pulled a chair over for her. Chloe sat. "So what's the problem?"

"It's not so much a problem as...um, fear," he pulled out some of the files from the bottom drawer of the cabinet. Wall of Weird stuff. Chloe smirked.

"You're not from around here are you Cooper?" she teased.

"No I'm from Metropolis," he told her. "What's that got to do with this stuff?"

"What do you know about the Smallville meteor shower?"

* * *

Lex met Chloe at the door when she came home from school. "Hi," she laughed at his eagerness.

"I'm bored," he admitted. "This is the first time I've missed work when I didn't have something to do."

"Poor baby," she rolled her eyes and headed to her room, Lex hot on her heels. "Well, what did you do today?"

"Played about a hundred games of pool," he confessed.

"You know most people enjoy playing hooky once in a while," she told him as they reached her bedroom.

"I'm not like most people," Lex told her seriously. She pushed open her bedroom door and stared at her bed in surprise.

"No, you _really_ aren't," she agreed breathily. He leaned casually against the doorframe while she rushed over to her bed to pick up the gift he'd left her.

"I've been trying to think of names for her all day," he confessed, grinning when she picked up the tiny kitten with an excited giggle. "But I kept coming up blank. Maybe you should name her."

"Hello there," Chloe scratched the kitten's neck gently. It meowed at her and purred. "You're _so_ pretty!" she cooed and then turned to Lex. "Lex, she's _so_ pretty!"

He laughed and then walked over to join her, reaching out a petting the cat's soft white fur. "Do you like her?" he asked, seriously hoping that she did. The kitten was little more than a ball of white fur with blue eyes at the moment, but it was a pureblood Persian and would grow to be a beautiful cat eventually.

"I love her," she nodded and stood on her tiptoes, and surprisingly, kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he _almost_ blushed. Plenty of women had kissed him before, but Chloe was one of the few to do so out of gratitude and not because she wanted something from him. It gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling that really should have made him sick, but for some reason it didn't. After the way she'd covered for him at work that morning, he felt the need to do something nice for her...in Lex language that usually meant a gift. "Not to make her sound like a bribe," he smiled guiltily. "But I was wondering if you had plans tonight?"

"Nothing important," she shrugged and set the kitten down on her bed, beside the shoelace that it had been playing with when they walked in. "Why?"

"Would you care to accompany me to tonight's charity dinner?" he asked her, feeling unusually awkward. Chloe smiled.

"Sure," she shrugged. "I'm ashamed to admit that I have no real plans on a Friday night."

"I had to bribe you," he smirked. "So don't feel too bad."

"I told you before Lex," she rolled her eyes. "You don't have to buy me things. You could have just asked me."

"So should I take back the kitten?" he joked. Chloe shot him an affronted look and gathered the cat in her arms protectively.

"Don't listen to the mean man," she mock-whispered. Lex smirked and shook his head.

"We'll leave at five," he told her and walked out of the room, pausing in the doorway. "It's a black and white party Chloe."

"So then I should wear blue?" she quipped, shaking the shoelace for the kitten to pounce at.

"Wear whatever you want."

* * *

When he got the call from Chloe that night, Clark was disappointed to hear that she'd be out of town all night. Not that they'd really made plans or anything, but now he had nothing at all to do. Chloe was his only real friend left in town, now that Pete and Lana were gone.

Clark sighed miserably and reached for the phone, dialing the familiar long distance number. Pete answered after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Pete," Clark finally broke into a grin.

"Clark," Pete exclaimed back enthusiastically, probably mocking him. "What's up man?"

"Nothing," Clark shrugged, listening carefully to the steady clicking of Pete typing. "Are you busy?"

"Nope, not really. I'm just sending an e-mail to Lana," Pete told him.

"Oh," Clark frowned. "Do you e-mail her a lot?"

"Usually twice a week," Pete admitted. "She feels a little left out sometimes, being so far away. I kind of know the feeling. Plus, she likes to be kept in the know about how Chloe's doing."

"Oh yeah," Clark nodded, immediately feeling guilty for being suspicious. He hadn't been keeping in touch with Lana recently, at least not since she'd called the week before to tell them that she was staying in Paris until at least January. "It's good that you're keeping in touch, I'm sure she appreciates it."

"So what's up Clark?" the typing stopped now. "No plans tonight?"

"No," Clark sighed again. "Chloe's going to some charity thing with Lex...you know I _just_ realized that she's my only friend left in Smallville."

"Man, you should probably meet some new people," Pete laughed. "It's just a matter of time before Chloe makes new friends too. It wouldn't hurt you to have a few more friendly types around in case some Meteor Freak goes after you guys..._again_."

"Yeah," Clark frowned, realizing that he was right.

"Still, if you're really bored," Pete drawled. "Why don't you come over? I've got no plans either...boy that's embarrassing."

"Pete you live in Wichita now," Clark reminded him.

"Uh yeah," Pete laughed. "But you can run like five miles a second. How long do you really think it would take to get here?"

Clark paused. "Good point," he shrugged. "See you in ten."

Twelve minutes later Clark knocked on Pete's door, grinning when his friend opened it. "You're late," Pete joked. "What took you so long?"

Clark held up a piece of paper. "I had to go back for your address."

* * *

Chloe didn't have to attend many of those fancy dinner things to figure out why she liked them. She liked the beautiful clothes that she got to wear, and she liked the diamond earrings on her ears. She liked that the event was for charity, and that is was glamorous in a way that your average girl only got to dream about. But what she really _loved _was how she got to watch him work the room, all of those people and cameras and handshakes.

Watching Lex Luthor mingle with Metropolis's finest was amazing, and being the one on his arm was something else entirely. She'd accompanied him to events before, clubs and operas and even the occasional dinner, but now that they were back in Metropolis, with all of the familiar faces, she wasn't just a friend who'd escorted him. He was introducing her as his date.

Chloe wasn't stupid; she knew that he was trying to impress the important people in the room. In fact, that's why she'd taken so much care in getting ready for the evening. Countless women had been in her position before, on the arm of Metropolis's favorite playboy billionaire. She wasn't naïve enough to think that Lex had selected her first out of all of the women that would scramble at the chance to accompany him; but yet there she was, arm looped through his as they shook hands with the Governor. It didn't suck.

She was his date, yes, but more importantly she was his friend, and she knew how big this night was for Luthor Corp. For some reason Lex was really excited about the Fryor Pharmaceutical deal, and she was determined to help make him and his company look good that night when they made the announcement...it's not like she had to worry about journalistic integrity. Not anymore. Plus there were some perks to being on Lex Luthor's arm...

"Another glass of champagne Miss?" a waiter appeared at her elbow just as she was polishing off the last sip in her glass.

"Yes, thank you," she smiled at the man and exchanged her empty glass for a full one. She ignored the pointed look from Lex, probably terrified that she'd get loaded off of the free drinks. Chloe forced herself not to roll her eyes and accepted the Governor's wife's request for her to tag along to the powder rooms...they called them powder rooms.

Chloe walked with the woman, a thirty-something brunette in a beautiful black dress, to the lady's room. She ignored the paranoid look that Lex shot her way.

* * *

Governor Averman was one of the duller people that Lex had spoken to all evening. But he was the man to talk to about getting approval for the production contracts between Luthor Corp, Cadmus Labs, and Fryor Pharmaceuticals.

"Luthor," the Governor clapped a hand on his shoulder jovially. "I have a eight o'clock tee time at the Metropolis Country Club on Sunday morning. Mayor Hayes will be there. You should join us; I'm sure we would be able to reach an agreement over those production contracts of yours."

Lex struggled between the duel desires to grin and scowl. He hated golf, but he did need those contracts...and this would be the easiest way to get them. "I'll be there," he nodded to the Governor with his best professional smile.

"Excellent," Averman shook his hand. "Well if you'll excuse me, I think my wife is probably done in the powder room."

"Of course Governor," he gritted his teeth and forced the title out of him mouth, nodding to the dull man. "I'll see you on Sunday."

"Nine o'clock," Averman grinned and slipped past Lex. "Hello again Miss Sullivan." Lex turned around curiously to see Chloe smiling up at the older man.

"Hello Governor," she chirped, balancing a glass in each hand. "I hope you're enjoying yourself."

The man chuckled. "Of course dear," he patted her shoulder in a way that made Lex's skin crawl. "Come see me later, I'd love to get a chance to talk with you...privately."

Chloe's face registered her shock for about half a second before she plastered a mocking grin on her face. "I'll try," she tilted her head slightly. "If you're looking for your lovely wife, I left her with that gorgeous bartender. Excuse me."

The Governor was gone towards the bar so quickly that his shoes almost slipped on the marbled floor. Chloe smirked and made her way over to Lex. She handed him one of the glasses.

"Thank you," he sipped gratefully at the scotch. "I trust you've gotten acquainted with our Governor."

"Yes," Chloe rolled her eyes and took a sip of her own drink. "I hope you didn't vote for him." Lex chuckled and held his arm out for her, leading them to the next group of hands to shake.

TBC...


	4. Three

**Chapter Three**

_A/N: The rest of this episode is going to be kindof angsty. I'll try to have the final chapter up before Monday...scratch that, I WILL have it up by Monday. No Clark in this one, I really just sent him to hang with Pete so that he would have something to do. Episode 8 will probably not be up until next weekend...but I'm going home on Wednesday to watch "Gone" so maybe that'll inspire me to update sooner. Here's hoping!_

__

When the Maitre D announced dinner at eight o'clock, Chloe was famished. She and Lex found their places at a table near the front of the room, beside the podium. She noted with an eye roll that all of the most successful politicians and business people were seated in that general area.

Lex held her chair for her and she took her seat next to a sweet looking older woman. "Hello dear," the woman greeted her kindly.

"Hi," Chloe returned with a grin, glad to have a nice companion at the table...one that wouldn't try to grab her ass anyways. She held her hand out. "I'm Chloe Sullivan."

The woman smiled back. "Evelyn Fryor," she shook the offered hand. Chloe's eyes widened at the name and Evelyn laughed. "Yes, I suppose if you're a friend of Mr. Luthor's you would know the name."

"I'm a friend of Lex Luthor's," Chloe corrected. "_Mr._ Luthor and I don't get on very well." Evelyn smiled.

"I like you already," she whispered with a wink.

"Chloe," Lex touched her elbow to get her attention. She turned around. "Have you met the others?"

Chloe shook hand with the other people at the table and tried in vain to remember the names. She had no problem with some of them though...

"Alden Fryor and his wife, Evelyn," Lex finished with the couple beside them. "Whom I think you've already met."

"Yes dear," Evelyn smiled at him. "We're old friends." Chloe smiled again. She could already tell who she'd spend this dinner talking to.

* * *

Luthor Corp donated two million dollars to the Metropolis Philanthropist Society to Benefit Orphaned Children. Chloe wasn't terribly surprised, Lex could be very generous when he wanted to be, but Evelyn Fryor seemed to be.

"Two million dollars?" she whispered to Chloe in shock once the speeches were done and the crowd was applauding the donators.

"Lex seems to have a soft spot for kids without parents," Chloe told her, feeling oddly proud of the bald billionaire. He'd made a lot of money off of the Fryor deal – or at least he would—and she was glad to see him giving some of it away to a good cause.

Evelyn shrugged. "It would seem that Alden was right to hold out for the son."

"Excuse me?" Chloe frowned.

Evelyn blanched, realizing that she'd said too much. "Mrs. Fryor it's okay," Chloe reassured her quickly. "I won't say anything. To be honest I knew that there was something more to this merger than Lex had let on. I just didn't know what. He was so excited about it..."

Evelyn lowered her voice even more and Chloe had to lean closer to hear her. "Luthor Corp has been trying to negotiate a takeover of my husband's company for years," Evelyn confessed. "Long before Lex Luthor even finished school."

"What? Why was Lionel Luthor so interested in your company?" Chloe asked, whispering too.

"Fryor Pharmaceuticals was one of the first American corporations to produce Viagra," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Lionel Luthor was all over that from the start. He offered obscene amounts of money at the time, but Alden was younger then and not ready to retire."

"So then why does Luthor Corp want the company now? And why did your husband agree to sell?"

"The company is up for a huge contract in Florida," Evelyn explained. "It would make anyone in charge a lot of money, but will take several years to fulfill the terms. My husband just doesn't have it in him anymore to keep up the long hours, I'm afraid."

"So if Lionel was interested then why didn't you sell to him?" Chloe wondered.

"Lionel Luthor started making new offers last year," Evelyn told her. "Before the contract even came into the picture. The company was worth far less than what it is now. He'd wanted to do some sort of experimental testing...I'm not sure of the exact details. But Alden refused to sell to Lionel Luthor."

"Why?" Chloe asked her. "Besides the fact that he's..."

Evelyn laughed and Chloe didn't feel the need to finish that sentence. "He didn't trust him," the older woman smirked slightly. "Alden's main concern was that Lionel would make life too difficult for Fryor employees when he took over. We were concerned about their job security."

"So why sell to Lex?"

"Alden was impressed with the way he handled the Smallville situation, organizing an employee led buy out," Evelyn told her. "Lex also agreed to a notwithstanding clause to protect the employees—a clause which Lionel Luthor flat out refused. All in all, we were ready to sell the company but we were just waiting until a more suitable CEO came along."

"Lex definitely is the lesser of two evils," Chloe nodded. She returned to her desert and couldn't help but replay Lex's drunken words from the night before, over and over in her mind. I beat him...

"Are you okay?" his voice whispered in her ear. Chloe jumped slightly and looked over at him in surprise, staring into his stormy eyes. She must have spaced for a minute because his gaze was full of concern. She smiled at him and nodded.

* * *

Though it pained her to admit it, Chloe loved ballroom dancing. She wasn't extremely graceful on her feet, no Lana Lang, but her father had taught her how to dance properly when she was younger. So at least she could keep up.

The myriad of dance partners made sure of that. For every woman that Lex danced with – whether for business or pleasure – she had to dance with their dates...at least when they asked. So far, they'd all asked. Not everyone in the room excelled at it though. Her latest partner, Governor Averman, number seventeen, kept stepping on the toes of her new stilettos. He was leaving footprints on not only her skin but also on the white silk fabric of her shoes. Stupid man. Between that and his roving hands, Chloe was almost too distracted to pay attention to what he was saying.

"...and of course I told the mayor that as important as Metropolis is, it isn't the only city in the state. I had to decline his invitation to the city council's gala next weekend because there's an important benefit dinner in Edge City on the same night and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to show an obvious preference for one city over the other..."

"Oh, of course not," Chloe nodded solemnly, knowing that he didn't really require a comment from her, and mentally rolled her eyes.

"...and then there is also the approaching Ms. Kansas pageant..."

"Right," she nodded again...and then flinched as he trod on her baby toe again.

"...sorry dear, I'm not as light on my feet as I would like to be. I'm afraid my ballroom dancing isn't as graceful as my golf swing..."

"You're doing fine," Chloe lied through gritted teeth. He seemed to take her reassurance as a come on though, because his hand began to slowly creep its way lower down her waist.

"...speaking of golf, I was lucky enough to get the much sought after tee time at the Metropolis Country Club on Sunday morning. Do you golf?"

"No," Chloe shook her head gratefully, quelling down the urge to vomit as his hand creeped even lower.

"Pity, you could have joined us on Sunday. The mayor will be there, and young Luthor..."

"Really? Lex is excellent at golf," she lied through her teeth. 'Lex hates golf,' she thought to herself with a smirk.

"But enough about me," he chuckled as if he'd said something hilarious. "Let's talk about you now, shall we?" Chloe didn't like the look in his eyes now, and she had a feeling that it didn't have anything to do with the way his hand was sliding down past her hipbone. "If I recall you used to write a column for the Daily Planet."

Here we go.

"Yes, I did," she nodded wistfully, almost longing for the days that she wrote for the paper by day and was threatened by Lionel Luthor by night. It beat being mauled and trampled by the Governor...almost.

"You specialized in exposing the dirtier deeds of local business tycoons, did you not? I must confess that I find it a little ironic then that you spend so much time with the likes of Lex Luthor."

"Excuse me?" she asked him petulantly, staring up at the mocking expression on his face, daring him to flat out get to his point. He smirked quickly, so quickly that she almost didn't see it.

"I suppose Lex Luthor must not be the type of businessman that you like to expose," he said unconvincingly, as if he were humoring her. "Wouldn't want to hurt your chances...in the journalism world of course."

"My articles exposed unsavory and illegal practices Governor," she clarified, stressing the title mockingly.

"It is convenient then that the people your articles targeted were all members of companies with no connection to Luthor Corp or any of it's subsidiaries."

"Perhaps Luthor Corp executives simply aren't currently conducting any illegal business practices," she suggested, not believing it herself.

"Or perhaps you have an unprofessional connection to members of the Luthor family," he returned. Chloe bristled.

"Are you questioning my journalistic integrity or my loose morals?"

"Neither," he lied unconvincingly, a well-practiced oily smile on his lips.

"Then you're simply questioning the lengths that they would go to for positive press," she suggested instead.

He laughed. "I've been friends with Lionel Luthor for years, so let's not beat around the bush here. I know how you got that article and I know why you're staying with Lex Luthor."

"You do?" she asked doubtfully.

"I do," he nodded, another of those oily smiles on his face. "Why would you print harmful information about the man who handed you a column in Kansas's finest paper?"

"I never censored my articles," she told him adamantly. "They were always based on fact and if I didn't expose any wrong doing on Luthor Corp's part it was because there was nothing to report..." '...at the time,' she finished mentally.

"And how fortunate for you," he smiled grotesquely. "Daddy Luthor hands you a much coveted column, you suffer through his court room drama, and here you are on the arm, and checkbook, of one of America's richest bachelors. It's been a productive year for you, hasn't it Miss Sullivan?"

Her grip on his shoulder tightened, her fingers digging into the skin there. "Don't worry dear," he laughed sardonically. "I'm not going to expose you. I would just like to take this opportunity to offer you an alternative."

"An alternative," she raised her eyebrows in fury.

"Lex Luthor may be young and rich," he clarified. "But he's answering to daddy. A young woman like yourself could do better."

"Like a state Governor?" she rolled her eyes openly this time. His leer was all the confirmation that she needed. If they weren't in a room full of people she would have taken off her stilettos and given him such a stabbing.

"I could help you go places Chloe," he whispered, his mouth hovering close to her ear, making her want to gag. "Connections to newspapers that make the Daily Planet seem like the Inquisitor. I can help make you a great reporter."

She peered over his shoulder and was relieved to see Lex making his way over. She found her voice again when the man began to nuzzle her neck. "I plan on being great all by myself, _Sir,"_ she hissed and pulled away from him. "And if I needed help I would never go to you." Before he could retort Lex tapped him on the shoulder and cut in.

Chloe switched partners gratefully an allowed Lex to lead her far away from the Governor. The old man gave her a murderous look; but after Lionel Luthor, she was completely unfazed. "Is everything okay?" Lex asked her, an eyebrow rose at the expression that the Governor was shooting their way.

"Fine," her voice was clipped. She gave Lex a small smile to let him know that, despite her mood, she actually was glad to see him.

"What did he say?" Lex frowned now, clearly not believing her. She supposed it would be obvious to him by now when she was lying and when she really was 'fine'.

"He just...he implied that I was some kind of gold-digger," she threw the man one last dirty look over Lex's shoulder and then proceeded to ignore him. "But I suppose they all think that." Lex didn't answer. "Oh my God!" she hissed at him, trying to keep her voice down. "They do don't they? They think that I'm after your money!"

Lex shrugged. "Probably," he agreed. Off her stricken look he hurriedly continued. "But not everybody...nobody important."

"He's the _Governor,_ Lex," she reminded him. "That's pretty important."

"He's not a very _good_ Governor, Chloe," Lex assured her. "Believe me, he's not important." She nodded and tried not to shoot paranoid glances around the room. Suddenly it felt like everyone was watching them...

"I don't know who should be more insulted," she continued in a hurried whisper, on a roll now. "He implied that I'm some kind of trashy gold-digger but he also implied that you were some kind of amoral criminal who was stupid enough to fall for a trashy gold-digger! I don't even have brown hair!"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "You know," she rolled her eyes. "Because all of your past gold-diggers have been these stacked brunettes...not that you were stupid then! Just because you fell for their acts...I mean, we all fell for them...but there were extenuating circumstances and—"

"Chloe—"

"I didn't mean _stupid_, stupid...because of course you aren't—"

"Chloe—"

"Lex I swear I didn't mean—"

He chuckled again. "Chloe I know what you meant," he assured her.

"Good," she muttered, feeling like an idiot for rambling on. "Come to think about it, with the exception of Clark, the last three guys that I was involved with tried to kill me too..."

"To be fair Victoria Hardwick never actually tried to kill me," Lex frowned. "She just wanted to bankrupt me..."

"What was the point of this conversation again?" she wondered.

"Forget it," Lex suggested. "Just dance." Chloe nodded at him and tried to will herself to relax. She quickly realized that Lex was an excellent dancer. Far, far better than the perverted Governor.

He led her expertly around the floor, one hand holding hers beside them and the other resting low on her hip gently. With him it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Her fingers scrunched into the soft fabric on his shoulder and his wand was warm and comforting on hers.

All around them people danced, the sounds of clicking shoes and fluttering fabrics filling her ears. Her own dress fanned out into a perfect circle of white silk every time she spun. It made her smile fondly, remembering a time when she would stand on her father's feet, dressed up in a white ruffled gown with a gold tiara on her head, as a little girl, before she outgrew her girly phase. A princess.

But Lex wasn't at all like her father, and he really wasn't the Prince Charming type either. But he seemed to find her smile infectious, because he grinned at her and pulled her quickly into a dip. Chloe laughed and let him steady her while she regained her footing. Well, maybe he was a little charming...he was certainly generous.

"Two million dollars is a lot of money," she said as casually as she could, her gaze locking onto the expensive fabric covering his broad shoulders. He shrugged.

"I've got enough to spare."

She nodded. "I know," she said, still to his shoulder. "It's still generous though."

"It's a good cause Chloe," he insisted. She turned her eyes up to his now, holding his intense gaze.

"I know," she repeated seriously. "And you're a good man for doing it." They both knew that she wasn't talking about the charity anymore.

"No I'm not Chloe," he told her bitterly. "I've made a lot of mistakes."

"That just makes you human Lex," she smiled sadly. "It doesn't make you a bad person. We've all made mistakes, some of us have just made a lot more than others."

He didn't answer that time, but he seemed to share her pain at the words. "Then neither of us are perfect," he smiled softly at her and then she saw his eyes move off of hers, focusing on something else. She took that to mean that the conversation was over.

Lex's hand moved from her hip to the small of her back, pulling her a little closer. She smiled again to herself and let her eyes flutter shut. The melodic sound of string music drowned out the noise in her head, a slow and steady waltz commanding her feet, her partner, and her fellow dancers. The ballroom looked like a chessboard, a black and white sea in motion. There was no doubt which piece Lex was.

Her eyes fluttered open again and she stared hard at the fabric of his suit jacket. The noise was familiar, but when his jacket pocket vibrated slightly, she forgot why she knew the sound. "What the—"she pulled back roughly in surprise, staring incredulously at the still-moving lapel.

Lex smirked and pulled a cell phone out of the inside pocked of his jacket, raising his eyebrows at her jumpiness. "Oh shut up," she muttered, allowing him to lead her off of the dance floor so he could take his call. "How should I know that you'd bring a cell phone to a charity dinner?"

"I put it on vibrate," he defended, clicking the talk button absently and not really looking at the display while he did so. "Luthor."

"Of course you did," she snarked at him and walked over to the closest light to reapply her lip-gloss and give him some privacy. She hummed absentmindedly to the music, not really paying attention to the party around her.

"Dominic this isn't—"Lex's was still close enough to overhear and the familiar name caught her attention. Chloe's head snapped in his direction immediately; calls from Dominic were never good. "—are you sure?"

She expected the usual anger that inevitably marred his face when he got those calls. But the look on his face was one she'd never seen before, and it made her stomach clench painfully. The music suddenly sounded like harsh noise, her lungs felt heavy with lead, and her eyes welled.

Lex hung up the phone with uncharacteristically shaky movements, and clumsily slipped it back into his pocket. When he didn't pull his gaze back up to meet hers she took a few tentative steps towards him.

"Lex? She asked him, laying a hand on his forearm gently, catching his attention. He looked up, eyes wetter than usual and a dark, steely blue color that have made her heart flutter under normal circumstances. "What's wrong?"

He swallowed and shook his head defensively, his perfected neutral mask slipping onto his face as quickly as the pained one had. "Get the coats," he told her coolly, ordered actually. She blinked up at him in surprise and he ran a hand over his head once before walking away from her, pulling the phone back out as he went.

She would normally flip out at him for brushing her off so easily and ordering her around so arrogantly, but there was obviously something wrong. Instead of yelling, she found their coat check tickets in her purse and made her way over to the coat check as quickly as she could.

He was waiting at the elevators when she caught up to him. He hit the button for the lobby and she handed him his coat, riding in silence for the first few floors down. "Lex?" she asked him carefully, so as not to anger him. He turned to her distractedly and blinked. "What happened?"

He slid his coat on and stared hard at the doors, as if willing them to open so he could get out of there and away from her. "He'd dead," he finally got out, no trace of emotion in his voice or on his face.

She didn't feel the relief that she expected, not even close. The world didn't suddenly seem brighter, and the constant weight on her shoulders didn't lift. A man she knew, horrible as he may be, was dead. And his son wasn't able to mourn for him. The air in the elevator seemed to disappear and she found herself gulping for breath. A track of tears began to inch its way down her cheek, but Chloe didn't know which Luthor it was for.

TBC...


	5. Closer

**Closer**

_A/N: Like I promised, here is the end of this episode. I didn't actually realize it before, until some of you asked, but I didn't straight out say who had died. I thought I would be obvious who I meant, but when I reread the story again I realized that it was a little vague. Sorry. It's clarified in this chapter. As for episode eight, there are no spoilers at the end of this chapter because I haven't written it yet. Just know that it will be called Celebration and will center around Lex's birthday...hopefully not as angsty as this one ended up being. But hey, Smallville is full of angst so why can't my fics be? Thanks for the reviews!_

It always rained at these things. Always. At least at the ones that mattered to him. He knew that he shouldn't care, it shouldn't matter, but family loyalty had been drilled into him years before and it was hard to forget it.

Considering the fact that the man was a criminal, a record number of people had shown up to see Lionel Luthor put into the ground. Most were there for appearances, some of the women shed a tear or two, and some were there to make sure that he was really dead. The Metropolis elite was all there, everyone important in society; and Lex didn't notice a single one of them. He only noticed the people that were important to him.

Lana had called that morning from Paris to offer her condolences, and she actually sounded sorry. The Kent's stood off to one side of the grave, Pete Ross standing with them, listing solemnly to the reverend speak. And Lex stood at the foot of the grave, staring impassively at the monument, Chloe on his left and Lucas on his right. The seven people that meant anything to him, the ones that made him Lex Luthor and didn't let him become Lionel. He was glad that they were there, but he couldn't understand why any of them would bother to show up and pay their respects for a man who had hurt them all so much.

The reverend led the crowd in a prayer, which Lex didn't join in on. He was never one to put faith in a higher power, and even if he was, Lionel didn't deserve a peaceful resting place. The graveyard was a sea of black: coats, umbrellas, and a string of black cars...mostly limos. The reverend wore a white sash around his neck, on top of the black robes. He raised his arms wide, calling amen. Lex didn't repeat it.

"Lionel Luthor was a great business man," the reverend spoke over the falling rain. Lex looked at Martha and Jonathan Kent.

'_Lionel Luthor murdered his own parents for money_,' he thought bitterly.

"He was a loving husband..."

Lex looked to the monument, to his mother's name. '_He drove his wife insane_."

"Lionel Luthor was a proud father..."

Lex looked at his brother. '_Lionel Luthor abandoned, ignored, and tried to kill his sons._'

"He was a supporter of science, and he funded many beneficial programs for medical research..."

Lex looked over at Clark Kent. '_He gambled with his son's life and funded programs that hurt innocent civilians; people like Clark Kent, like Adam Knight_.'

"Lionel Luthor cared about each and every one of his employees..."

Lex looked at Chloe. '_Lionel Luthor robbed her of her family and tried to take her life_.'

"He was a great man," the reverend finished. "He will be missed." Lex took a deep breath and begged himself to feel something besides contempt for the dead man.

The coffin began to lower into the ground now, and he still didn't feel the pain. Beside him, Lucas averted his eyes, staring at his shoes. Chloe sniffled softly and Lex could make out a small track of tears down her face. Martha Kent cried into a handkerchief and Clark stared back at Lex in concern.

Lex felt nothing.

* * *

She found him hidden in his study, lost on the upper level in a sea of bookshelves, a copy of Oedipus Rex in hand. She briefly considered knocking on one of the bookshelves to get his attention, but didn't. He knew she was there.

"You're brother's gone," she informed him. "He just left. I think he was a little disappointed that you didn't see him off."

"He'll get over it," Lex said dryly, setting the book back on the shelf and turning to face her. "Lucas will be back by the end of the month. Now that our father's gone he'll be around for his share of the inheritance."

"It always seems to come back to that doesn't it," she sighed and sat down on one of the leather chairs there.

"Everything comes down to that Chloe, in the end," he told her, letting his hands run along the spines of the books. Machiavelli, Dante, Plato, Marx, Nietzsche...

"Do you think he'll want to join Luthor Corp?" she asked him.

"He might," Lex flipped through a copy of The Prince. "He'll want his shares in the company anyways."

"So he might be around more then?" she tried to sound hopeful but didn't really feel it. Lucas was kind of hard to take.

"He might."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have your brother around," she pushed. "You probably want to get to know him better."

"I think I know Lucas as well as I'm ever going to," he flipped through a copy of Republic now. "Besides. I don't need a brother around."

She shook her head. "You need someone Lex," she insisted. "He's your family."

"He's _related _to me," Lex corrected. "The last of my family died a long time ago."

"That's grim," she retorted hotly. "Considering that you do actually have a brother out there, willing to leave his life in Edge City."

"Lucas would never move to Smallville, Chloe," Lex sighed and sat down in the chair opposite hers.

"Maybe Metropolis," she suggested. "You have a nice penthouse available, and it has extra room in it."

"Maybe."

The short answers weren't really fooling her, but she knew that he didn't feel like talking. "Well, just think about it," she added sadly. '_Maybe I should just go_?'

Lex looked more lifeless than she'd ever seen him, and it terrified her. "Are you okay?" she finally asked.

"Yes."

"You don't look okay," she insisted. "You look..."

"I'm fine," he insisted, not meeting her eyes.

She wanted to scream that he was a liar, that he obviously was not fine, but she didn't. "Good, that's convincing," she snarked lamely. He looked at her now.

"Chloe what do you want me to say?" he asked tiredly. "It's been a long day and I don't really feel like going a round with you right now."

She nodded and sat back quietly. They didn't speak for several minutes and she was beginning to get uncomfortable. Finally he sighed angrily and turned to her. "Why did you cry?" he demanded.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"At the funeral," he clarified, studying her like she was on trial. "Why did you cry? He was a monster Chloe! He destroyed my family and he murdered yours! So _why _did you cry for him?"

She felt her throat tighten up. "I didn't," she choked out.

"I saw you!" he insisted. "We all saw!"

"I didn't cry for Lionel," she insisted in return. "It wasn't for him..."

"What?"

"I don't care about _him_!" she snapped, regretting the words even though they were true and he didn't seem to mind. "He murdered my father and he tried to kill me repeatedly. He can rot for all I care about _him_! But he was your _father_ Lex, and he died...and I know that a part of you had to be in pain about that."

"I'm fine," he said again.

"You wanted him to love you," she brought up the previously taboo subject...truth hurts. "You may not have liked the man but he was still your father. I knew that you wouldn't let yourself grieve...I didn't cry for him."

Lex averted his eyes again and climbed quickly to his feet. She was surprised when he went back over to the bookshelf and removed one of the books that he'd been flipping through earlier; she'd thought for sure that he was going to leave. He sat back down in his chair and stared down at the book in his hands thoughtfully.

"Do you want me to leave?" she asked timidly, her voice sounding foreign in her own ears. He didn't reply and she took is silence as an affirmative. Resisting the urge to cry, rejected, she climbed to her feet and began to make her way to the stairs.

Her foot was already lowering onto the first step when he answered her, his own voice sounding as foreign as hers had. "No," he met her gaze now when she turned back. "Stay."

Chloe nodded silently and walked back over, this time sitting down in the chair beside his. She read the title of the book, The Prince again. Lex fingered the pages distractedly. She reached out a shaky and uncertain hand and took the book from him, opening it to a random page.

He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, listening silently. Chloe found her voice, deeper and headier than usual, and began to read.

_"...let no one be surprised at the facility with which Alexander was able to hold Asia, and at the difficulties that the others have had..."_

**End.**


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